Işık İnselbağ Scholarship

Benefits & funding

• The value and length of the named Işık İnselbağ award are not published; the university describes only that it is provided under the Işık İnselbağ Finance Chair to a successful doctorate student of the business school.
• The business school states that all of its doctoral students are admitted with a scholarship, so a recipient also holds the university’s standard doctoral package.
• Sabancı University’s Full Scholarship at doctorate level for 2026–2027: 100% exemption from the annual tuition fee; a monthly stipend of 67,500 TL for 12 months, rising to 75,000 TL for 12 months after the PhD qualifying exam; a single dormitory room; transportation support; private health insurance; a laptop; and limited conference support.
• Doctoral students whose work is carried by a research grant may instead be paid through a project scholarship, topped up to 74,250 TL a month, or 82,500 TL after the qualifying exam.
• Doctoral applicants are also encouraged to apply for the national TÜBİTAK BİDEB 2211 scholarship, which the university supplements with a full tuition exemption and 5,000 TL a month for 12 months alongside housing and other listed support.

Eligibility

• Candidates must be admitted to the PhD in Management at the Sabancı Graduate Business School; the award is not open to applicants outside that school.
• Academic entry: a master’s degree with thesis, or a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of at least 3.00 out of 4.00. Holders of a non-thesis master’s degree may apply only with an official document certifying enrolment before 2013.
• Test scores: GMAT 600 (10th edition) or 555 (Focus Edition), GRE Quantitative 157, ALES or e-ALES 82, or GAT 82.
• English proficiency: TOEFL iBT 88, YDS / e-YDS / YÖKDİL 73, CAE grade B or CPE grade C, or PTE 74.
• Study is full-time and on campus in Istanbul. International applicants are accepted; the school reports that 31% of its current doctoral cohort is international.
• No nationality, residency, age, gender, or work-experience requirement is published for the award or the program.
• Selection is on academic merit during admission. The school publishes no separate criteria, quota, or form for this named award.

Application process

1. 1
   Choose the PhD in Management at the Sabancı Graduate Business School and check the degree, test, and English requirements for the concentration you want.
2. 2
   Create an account in Sabancı University’s graduate application system at https://admission.sabanciuniv.edu/?ts=new.
3. 3
   Prepare the required documents: the online application form, an official transcript, two recommendation letters, a passport photo, a statement of personal and professional purpose of at most two pages, standardized test results, the master’s diploma with thesis documentation where applicable, an English proficiency certificate, and a CV.
4. 4
   Submit before the doctoral deadline. For entry in 2026–2027 the early deadline was 27 March 2026 and the final deadline 12 June 2026.
5. 5
   The admission jury reviews the file and recommends a scholarship; the board of the graduate business school makes the final decision. Candidates who want to be considered for the finance-chair award should contact the school, because its terms are not published.

Program timeline

1. Early application deadline for the PhD in Management, 2026–2027 entry

   Mar 27, 2026

2. Final application deadline for the PhD in Management, 2026–2027 entry

   Jun 12, 2026

3. 2026 fall term

   The 2026–2027 doctoral cohort begins on the Tuzla campus in Istanbul

4. application dates had not been published by the university at the time of writing

   2027–2028 cycle